


All I Want For Christmas is the Truth

by orphan_account



Category: Phandom
Genre: Christmas, Coming Out, I also am very proud of it, I put my friend in this, ITS KINDA CHRISTMASY OK, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 09:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5534915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were having such a nice day at the park, and they really thought no one was there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All I Want For Christmas is the Truth

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god I finished it!
> 
> Here's a Christmas thing!
> 
> I hope it's still Christmas where you are.
> 
> If not, close enough.
> 
> (Also: Wish Upon a Star will not be updated as I promised. It is now officially on hold. Sorry.)

“Phil, wait up!” Dan calls after his boyfriend as they run out the door.

“But Dan, it’s snowing!” Phil says, grinning. He thrusts his arms out and spins in a circle, giggling. He sticks out his tongue and giggles as a large flake lands gently on his tongue and melts into a little bit of water that drips slowly into the back of his throat.

Dan rolls his eyes and smiles. Phil can be childish sometimes, but it’s one of the things that Dan loves about him.

“Dan, it’s snowing on Christmas Eve, don’t you think it’s just a little bit exciting?” Phil asks, cocking his head to the side and smiling, his teeth sparkling in the sun that filters through the gray clouds. 

“Sure.” Dan nods, sighing happily. “It’s exciting as hell.”

“Hell’s not that exciting, is it?” Phil asks, giggling again. His eyes close as he laughs and his tongue pokes out from between his teeth as it sometimes does when he laughs, and Dan smiles. He loves these little things about Phil, his little habits and mannerisms that make him who he is.

“No, I agree, that was a terrible analogy.” Dan nods. “Exciting as...” He pauses to think, then grins. “Christmas itself, really.”

“Now you look here, Howell.” Phil raises an eyebrow and shakes his finger, feigning seriousness. “One does not simply compare just anything to Christmas!”

“Okay, okay!” Dan smiles and shakes his head. “Are we going on a walk while it’s snowing or not?”

The pair set off down the street. Phil is still smiling brightly at all the snow, giggling whenever a flake settles onto his face. Dan watches him contentedly, watching as flecks of white gather in Phil’s jet black hair, standing out like a jackalope amongst rabbits. 

A few minutes of snowfall later, they reach a park. A soft blanket of snow is forming on the ground by now, catching on the branches of evergreens and settling onto park benches. 

“Want to sit down?” Phil asks, gesturing to a snow covered bench.

“As long as you’re going to be a gentleman and sweep off that snow, my butt is cold enough already.” Dan jokes and Phil giggles, his face scrunching up as he smiles widely.

“Of course, m’lady.” Phil jokes back, sweeping the bench clean in one elaborate gesture.

Dan scrunches up his nose. “M’lady? Really?”

“I’m being a gentleman!” Phil insists, giggling again. Dan loves it when he’s like this, when he’s happy and laughing all day long.

“Right.” Dan sits down and gestures for Phil to join him, and he does. 

Dan looks around the park. It appears deserted as far as he can see (which is pretty far), so he wraps his arm around Phil, and Phil, getting the all-clear from that gesture, gently rests his head on Dan’s shoulder.

Snow dances around them, flakes swirling everywhere. It’s coming down faster now, and the flakes are larger. The sun is beginning to set, coloring the clouds filling the sky a dazzling pink. Dan shifts his eyes to look at Phil, who’s hair has become full of specks of brilliant white. Dan can only assume that his isn’t much better.

“I love you.” He murmurs, smiling.

“Love you too.” Phil replies, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

Dan turns and full-on kisses Phil, and Phil giggles into the kiss. Dan loves it when he can feel Phil smile into a kiss, it makes him so glad that he can make someone this happy.

But as it is with all good things, it wasn’t meant to last.

“ _What the fuck_?” Someone screams behind them, and they jump up, both spinning around.

There’s a girl standing there, long brown hair topped off with a green and red beanie, an iPhone loosely gripped in her left hand...an iPhone with a Dan and Phil case on it.

 _Shit_ , Dan thinks, biting his lip.

“Hi?” Phil tries awkwardly, knowing Dan would cuss the poor girl out if he had the chance to speak.

“What.” The girl says simply, pulling her phone closer to her stomach, and then shoving it into the pocket of her oversized black coat. That’s when Dan knows. _She has pictures._

“Shit.” Dan repeats, aloud this time. Normally, in a situation like this, he would instinctively grab Phil’s hand, but he doesn’t want to give the girl a fucking photo op.

“Well, hi.” The girl waves nervously. “I’m Arleigha, nice to meet you, I think I’ll go now.”

She turns to leave, but Dan interrupts her. “Now you wait just a minute.”

She turns back around and then nervously asks, “Yes?”

“You say _nothing_ , understand?” Dan asks, furrowing his brow.

“Right. Nothing. Swear on my cat whiskers.” Arleigha nods frantically, then turns and bolts off into the part, fresh snow crunching under her feet.

“What are you willing to bet she posts them anyway?” Dan sighs.

“Yeah, she’s posting those as soon as she can.” Phil agrees and shakes his head, looking down to the snow-blanketed ground. “We screwed that one up.”

“You can say that again.” Dan nods, then, seeing the smile form on Phil’s face, adds, “And no, don’t actually say that again.”

“Aw, c’mon!” Phil giggles, then his bright smile falls, replaced with a frown that Dan doesn’t see often, and doesn’t want to see often. “But Dan...this is serious.”

Dan nods. “I know. The way I see it...we have two options. We can beat her to it. We can run home and tell the fans before she can post those pictures. We can make a video, we don’t need to edit it, we can just...make it.”

“And...option two?” Phil asks tentatively, worry playing in his clear blue eyes.

“Is that we let her post the pictures and let the phandom work everything out themselves.” Dan replies, then glances in the direction that Arleigha had ran, and looks back to Phil before adding, “And if we don’t run home immediately, we’ll have no choice but option two.”

“Right.” Phil nods briskly. Dan can see in his eyes that he’s retreated to the back of his head, and that he’s thoroughly thinking this through. Then his eyes brighten again and he simply says, “It’s already too late.”

Dan inhales sharply. “I know.”

For a few moments, there is pure silence. The park is truly vacant now, but for the two figures standing in the flurry of white, staring at each other as the sun dips further below the horizon and the lamp behind them flickers on, illuminating their faces in golden light. 

Phil smiles and laughs a little. “I guess we’ll have to sleep on it, mm?”

“Yeah.” Dan nods, then leans his head slightly forward, so now he and Phil are touching foreheads. He breathes in, and smiles a little as well, because Phil smells like cinnamon and fruity drinks and of _home_ , and it’s amazing.

“Dan?” Phil asks, looking up to meet Dan’s eyes, blue shining into brown.

“Yes?” Dan asks, his breath swirling into the air and curling into the white flurry surrounding them.

“Whatever we wake up to tomorrow morning...” He lets out a deep sigh. “I will still love you.”

“Of course you will, I’m awesome!” Dan replies, and they both collapse into giggles, the snow crunching as they lie down on it and stare into the star-filled sky.

“It’s beautiful.” Phil breathes, a cloud of breath escaping his lips and floating into the night.

“Not as beautiful as you.” Dan smiles, and he can swear the stars twinkle in annoyance as if to protest being put under a mere human.

“You sappy idiot.” Phil replies, giggling a little.

Dan smiles at the stars again. They don’t need to go yet. No matter what shitstorm is waiting for them tomorrow, they still have this moment, this _now_. And Dan is happy for what they have here under the stars.

* * * *

Dan swears he hears his alarm go off.

Then he remembers that it’s Christmas, and he didn’t set an alarm.

He sits bolt upright in bed. It’s Christmas! He picks up his phone to check the time...and then realizes what woke him up.

His phone is buzzing like crazy with notifications on every social media he owns, and possibly even some he doesn’t. His breath catches in his throat. He’d almost forgotten their encounter with Arleigha in the park yesterday.

“Well, shit.” He mutters to himself, then pushes up the covers, running out to the kitchen, where he finds Phil already awake with two cups of hot cocoa (with way too many marshmallows).

“Good morning.” Phil says, surprisingly cheery, and holds a mug out to Dan.

Dan takes it and sips. It’s not too hot, and it’s really rich. He closes his eyes for a moment, letting the warmth flow through him.

“Thanks, Phil.” He says, nodding curtly to Phil. “I needed this.”

“No problem.” Phil grins and sips his own drink.

“So.” Dan begins, but Phil interrupts him.

“I know. The pictures.” He nods, suddenly down to business. “She did post them. Obviously. They’re everywhere at this point. We’ve got to at least acknowledge them, right? So I think we should make a video. No editing, just us talking. If we take forever, people will start theorizing and writing fanfiction, and we do not want that at all.”

“Right.” Dan nods. “What you said. Video. Got it.”

Phil grabs his arm and pulls him along, and they reach Phil’s room. 

“We’re filming in here.” Phil announces. “And we can put it up on both on channels.”

“Right. Makes sense.” Dan nods again, still barely following Phil’s rushed words, and still barely awake.

The two sit down, and Dan notices Phil has already set up his camera. Good.

Phil reaches forward and turns it on.

“Hey guys!” He waves at the camera, grinning as if nothing is wrong. “Dan’s with me today.” 

He gestures to Dan who waves feebly and says, “Hi.”

Phil looks back to the camera, and his smile falls. “So...I’m guessing anyone watching this will probably know what I’m talking about when I say ‘the pictures’. So, on the subject of these pictures...No, they are not photoshopped. Yes, they are real. And, yes...” Phil takes a deep breath, and looks to Dan for support.

Dan nods and picks up where Phil left off. “Phan is real.”

They pause for any fangirls to scream, then continue.

“I’ve already planned a Christmas livestream tonight for questions and general conversation.” Phil speaks up again. “And we will be off of social media until then.”

“We’ll be _what_?” Dan bursts out. “Phil, you didn’t tell me about that!”

“Oh come on, you need a break anyway, it’s Christmas.” Phil rolls his eyes at Dan, then smiles to the camera. 

“Oh, and Arleigha?” Dan adds. “Yeah, you know who you are. You swore on your cat whiskers, and I take that very seriously. I hope you never get any merch ever again.”

“Really, Dan?” Phil giggles for the first time today, and it makes Dan smile, because Phil is back, his Phil, who smiles and laughs at anything.

They both turn back to the camera.

“Merry Christmas.” Phil smiles and nods.

The video goes black.

Somewhere in the world, it’s midnight, and a teenage girl is staring wide-eyed at her computer, mouth gaping, phone ready and in hand.

Somewhere else in the world, where it’s morning, a girl with long brown hair and a red and green beanie is curled up under her duvet, crying with a sharpie clutched against her chest.

And yet somewhere just slightly different, two men are laying tangled up together on their couch, watching a Christmas movie marathon as lights twinkle in the background, and realizing that it truly is a Christmas miracle to finally be allowed to be yourself to the entire world.


End file.
